In the frame…

Some of you may remember this time last year, when NTC 14 “Heritage” was about to air?

A rehearsal prop or two left in the space
Script pages lying crumpled about the floor of Spires 1
The odd drama rumbling from behind closed doors as you wait for groups to start
Shrieks and the occasional yell as you pass by on your weekend way !
The sound of laughter and…the sometime witness of tears in the back corridor as cast members ” hugged ” it out .

NT Connections season in PACE brings its own peculiar PACE lifestyle.

And though not a part of it, you always still feel connected – even just remotely.

What must it be like to be on the other side of those secret doors?

Is it curious ?

Is it envious?

Is it exciting to think, one day I could be part of that?

or, do you say to yourself , next time…I will be?

The closed doors of NT Connections are about to burst open again , and like a creative seed that was planted way back in the frost of Paisley December…appear as the eponymous tree , our play has now grown to be.

To take a group of 22 PACE and mould them into a cast is hard.

To take a cast of 22 and let lose them in a giant stage play “park” is harder still

But still…

We are those “with adventure in our blood” – and ” the world is ahead of us”.

I don’t think I will ever look at a tree in the same way again. I know I won’t ever take the binding roots and strong branches for granted.

Nature really is “pretty cool” – once you ” look up ” from your screen and with a single “different” breath realise that apathy does make “fools” of us all.

Bertolt Brecht had it so right this time; he probably knew a thing or two about trees.

The photograph of him sitting in one (with this post) is proof, that time-out from the usual business of our lives can be most rewarding.

We have billed our Stef Smith epic REMOTE production:

Made in Brecht…Inspired by PACE

Simple as.

There is everything in it for you to become PACE inspired about.

There is top class acting to revel in
There is choral bliss to aspire to
There is visual effect to assail you
There is beautiful language to move you
There is the wonder of “theatre for youth” to affect you
There is “meaning for life” to relate to
There is hope for the future to cling to
There is the chance of a new direction to follow
There are the kind of things to make you stand up and shout

“My name is PACE and I want to be part of this world , yes this dramatic world , forever more…”

It’s not just about being an actual part of National Theatre Connections that matters in the end…it’s about what this process can do for You from now on

You see this Performance is just the start of something better, but you are not going to become ” inspired” – unless you choose to be part of it.

You won’t be able to see the ” youth in theatre ” move around you , unless you move around with them…

You won’t be able to share the strange experience unless you put yourself on the connections stage along with this cast

Theatre is meant to shake your foundations , it’s meant to rattle your cage and have you clawing to free yourself of the drama chains that keep you forever ” small ”

It’s best described as a mood now . A lightening ” atmosphere ” around Spires , to blow out old PACE attitude and breath in the NEW.

Fresh air , for fuller drama chests and better forward purpose

We are not finished creating this play yet. And I honestly don’t think we will, right up till the moment we “step out with you” on Thursday the 5th of March’s opening night stage.

Why would we want to ever say this is ended ? …when this whole time , we have given ourself to the possibility, that change is endless…

No play has inspired us so much as young actors, testing our wings in limitless skies of revolution

No text has ever stopped and made us think ” Buck up ” , we love this ” deerly”

No protest will ever mean as much , as the one that made us fight for the right to care!

No Performance will make us ever think again we do this only predictably , without heart , for no real reason.

We are powerful “beyond measure” and only now beginning to see our truer light

The term ” a work in progress ” best describes our journey to this REMOTE place .

There can be no other words than hardest work in connection to it.

Brecht understood work , he understood workers , and he made his life about replaying it on stage , for us to understand that ” everything matters”.

He believed if you start by changing the ideas of the people around you , you create the society you aspire to live in better.

He believed that:

And so we have taken a PACE Hammer to what we think is our old performance ‘tired’ easy ways , we have smashed down the audience actor divide and are building a tree house for us all to climb up to and where we can view this PACE play park, together.

It’s a risk …but what is drama without the fear factor confronting us at every twist and turn

Who wants safe when you can have exhilarating , breath taking , terrifying moments of sheer adrenalin ART rush.

This cast will let it all go for you , because they have nowhere to hide and that is the bravest thing you can ever ask any Youth performer to possibly do.

Maybe this post should go to those that have no expectations of what this means , no preconceived notion of how it should ever be in PACE.

Maybe it’s time to stop looking at those that misguidedly assume they are waiting “in the wings” for their necessary entrance and positively target those others that just maybe occasionally see an email for a show and take the blind leap of faith to ” try it “.

So come on wider PACE membership …all Studio Time Intermediates and Juniors and Seniors , all Foundation Theatre and Chrysalis programmes:

Nothing adventured , nothing regained, or ever attempted.

One thing we have all , as part of this ‘Remote’ project , leaned along the NTC 15 way, is that nothing comes to those , who sit silent , watching the wider world just pass them by…

Futures need to be grabbed , shaken and moulded by more expressive ones, who want to make a resounding difference , a lasting impression , and in the end ” leave ” here fully grown, not faded and grey .

” look at all the Grey ” says Antler …( at a key moment in the play ) …” It’s all so grey!”

And it often is , just that, grey …for all of us , somewhere, sometime…

Cannot wait to see this beautifully written play come alive, excited isnt the word to describe how I feel write now, I'm ready to see the next page of 22, the final chapter!
Break a leg you guys, you's are all amazing and the stage is yours, time to play
Jodie x

This show is so different and weird, the words are absoloutely stunning and so poetic and the process in which the cast are going through to reach what we know will be three amazing home performances is changing me so much as an actress and as a person. I highly reccomend that everyone come along and see it. It's something different and it has an extremely important message. Hope to see you all next week!

Completely honest here. Last year when I went to see Heritage, I went because I thought I 'should' or 'have' too and walking out after that show I was completely gob smacked. As they pushed the boundaries of acting or what I thought was acting at that point.
I completely agree that our show will never stop changing and will not be completely ready till we step out on stage - but that's the fun of it!
We still have a LONG way to go, but we know we can do it.
'Do what ?'
Change the views of whoever comes to see our show, the same way our views have changed also. No matter how small - we have all changed so far (for the better) and we will continue to do so.
Hope to see as many of you there no matter where you come from (pace wise) to experience what we have so far.
Scott :)

I'm so excited to come and see this show, it's such an intelligent play and I can't wait to see how the cast are going to portray it! A massive good luck to everyone involved, you all have it in you and I am certain you will make this a mind blowing performance!x

This show is madness, but it is our madness and it is a great big play of madness. This play will change the way you look at the world, the way that you approach everything...hopefully. If for nothing else come along because you will never have seen anything like this, probably won't again, you don't want to pass up this opportunity. We have truly taken a hammer and smashed everything we know up and made something new something better

Our play is for the bizarre, the larger than life...and all that's weird. But most of all, behind the "muchness", it's a play about humanity. In this sense, we're using Brecht as less of a construction in style, but an inspiration to help us remember why really matters...everything. As a playwrite, as a director, and as a man, he knew what was really important, and knew that art was the most effective way to communicate this to the public. That's why we were so moved by Caucasian Chalk Circle, it was entertaining in so many ways...but before any of that it was truthful, it told us the uncensored, non sugarcoated truth - and taught us something. That is our aim, we vow as actors, as a company to try our hardest to tell you the truth, teach you...and entertain you in the process.

Thank you Jodie and Beth for wishing us luck! I feel limited to what I want to say, as I feel the fewer preconceived ideas you have of the play going in, the more you engage with the play when you see it and the better the experience is for you.
But I will say, that indeed our play is a bold and creatively inspired risk, but one that if we tackle with the confidence we have as actors, it will be a brave risk that yields great things. Great things for us as actors, who are embarking on this different PACE style and are benefitting from it in our performance diversity... great things for you as audience who I'm sure will be open enough to really engage and allow yourself to be metaphorically moved(though literally too at points because of it being promenade!!)... and just maybe great things for society. Now that truly would be something.

Can't wait to see REmOTE!!! I have already got my ticket and its anxiously waiting on my board ready for the 5th to come.
The cast must be feeling a whole mix of emotions, nerves, excitement, pressure. It's all part of the rewarding jounery of connections.
The best of luck to the cast and I am sure you will pull something amazing off.

The play is surreal, the play is real. They combine and create a whole lot of art. From seeing the show I'm sure a lot of mind sets with switch, it's scary how much you notice and how frustrating it is when you realise you're a key part of everything that is sending out generation down and down and down. Hopefully it will inspire you to influence the mind sets and observations of others too x

Can a play change you, can one experience change you? Yes! Wither watching or taking part in this display or power and protest. We are equally involved. I said from the very beginning of this experience I will have succeeded if we leave the audience feeling something. Not by certain parts or people but by the art and creation itself. I cannot wait to share our journey with you.

Honestly this show has taught me so much, I'd encourage everyone to come as it's honestly going to show you the apathetic view we all have, Antler up that tree trying to get people to listen but nobody cares. Love this show, this cast and I'm so excited/nervous for this show! This show is so beautiful.

Theatre is forever changing. This play this cast this pièce of theatre will change the theatre boundaries again it will make you think differently about theatre once more. I dont know what else to say. Come and see it. :)

This is my second year doing connections but it feels like the first again. Everyday I am learning in this process, wether it be to lower my voice or a new current world issue. This play has taught me to care and that if I believe in something, then we as a generation should stand up and fight for it. I've carried out a petition, I've protested, I've made friends I'll never forget, I've grown to be honest, Ive released my soul, I've pushed the boundaries, I've cried and shouted and laughed and I'm still learning. Please come see this. I beg you, as I want you to feel the way I've felt and share this experience (if only for a night) with me. So please step into our playground and open your mind, to glance into our perspective and maybe you'll learn too?

I feel like there is the world of a difference between not having enough time, and having little time left. When we do not have enough time we rush. Panic. We multitask and things spill and nothing ever feels right. When we have little time left we understand the precious moments of our time. We are calm, and accept. I feel we are the lateral who sometimes get caught up in our "dramatic ways" to believe we are the first. And I think, as dramatic people, so to speak, we see things better in pieces than whole. But the show is beginning to take shape now as its own creation, forever pushing the boundaries of our own minds or scepticism that can sometimes be called our imagination.
The show goes up in one week, and the days creep on, as silently and shamelessly as a beggar.
I can feel my cheeks burn at the thought. But just like blister, I'm not afraid. I've never been afraid. There is much difference between being nervous and being afraid. I am nervous as hell, because nerves lie on hope and uncertainty, and with a show like this, with any show really, those factors will always be there. Being afraid means that you fear the future and what it will become. I have far too much believe in this show and our cast to be fearful. Use all connotations you wish, but I don't fear we will not make this play. Determind, I suppose. I feel myself filled with a mood best described as determined.
My biggest regret of last year is how much I believed in the future. And how I believed there would be more time. I can't help but feel there should always be more time. Most time to work, more time to play, and more time to set aside to watch the sun set. There is always time for these things, we just never seem to make it. I'm asking anyone who reads this to come and see remote next week. Make time. Stef says in her script that there is always time to watch another sun set. And perhaps it is cold outside, and the wind will whip around you if you try to look out at the sky. If then, I ask-Watch our sun, in our tree. It's a giant tree, there's always room for one more...
Carla x

Can I ask you all for some sort of advice? Currently, I'm rehearsing my Monologue - the assessment required on Odyssey day. My Monologue is difficult and is completely divergent to my "same concept" sort of style. My objective is to make a statement, make my voice be heard... I want to arrest people with my voice.
I'm not entirely sure if you are able to help in any way by simply typing but I gathered the Connections cast would know about captivating the audience with the beautiful words they are using and the whole motif of Protest - strong, loud and eager voices.
I'm also impatiently waiting to see Remote! Good luck to everyone, do Pace proud!!!
Mia X

I'm no connections member and certainly a novice when it comes to stuff like this but I'll try. I think that regarding your statement, you want to fully understand the meaning behind the words. Find the message that you're trying or want to put across to your audience, and then focus on displaying that 'passion' or whatever emotion that fits with your statement. Obviously having confidence to back what you say is a good start on capturing your audience. Other than that I'm not sure? It's kinda hard to answer your question without hearing your monologue and getting a better understanding for it. Hope this somewhat helps you Mia, good luck on your odyssey day!

I'm interested in seeing what views this play takes. Last year, while I understood it, I didn't fully relate to it. But with remote being focused on the generation of the Internet, my generation, I'm excited to see what I react to and how. I'm sure the acting will be breath taking, but the delivery and meaning of this message? I'll just have to wait and see.

I cannot wait to be stunned, captivated and inspired by Cast 22 when I see REmOTE.
I cannot wait to see something different which takes many PACE members down a different theatre route.
Good luck guys, I know you will be outstanding!

REmOTE cast, I wish you all the very best. I know it's been a rough journey so far but keep fighting for it and I can't wait to see you on Friday. You've have an hour each night to make a statement and change the way people see the world and themselves-don't forget how special that is :)

I am so exited to come and see the show that evidently you guys have put so much into. As you said, it has been a really rough journey for you and as the day gets closer and closer I hope you all have a fantastic set of shows. So to the REmOTE cast I say break a leg

It's show week and I am so excited for this weekend to come so I can see the show! It is a truly beautifully written and moving script and I can't wait to see what you have all done with it and I have 110% faith that you will do the words so much justice. Go out there And be amazing! Best of luck and I know you will all be great x